Automobile bumper



Jan. 5 1926. 1,568,925

5. H. SHAW AU'IKOMOB ILE BUMPER Original Filed Feb. 28 1921 I HIM 1 HI x, I Q 3 V INVENTOR S E H- S/IHW L/ml M K64 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 5, 1926..

UNITED STATES 1,568,925 PATENT OFFICE.

smear. n. straw, or new yonx, N. Y., assmnon TO UNIVERSAL snocx ELIMINA- TOR, me, on LONG ISLAND CITY, New YORK, A ooaronanon on NEW YORK.

AUTOMOBILE BUMPER.

Original application iiled February 28, 1921, Serial 1T0. i #08, Patent No. 1,431,264, dated October 10, 1922. Divided and this application filed March 25, 1921. Serial No. 455,826.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL H. SHAW, a

- citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at New York city, in the count of New. York and State of New York, invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Automobile Bumpers, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to automobile bumpers, and particularly to the impact member of a bumper, the present application forming a division of my co-pending' application Serial No. 448,508, filed February 28, 1921 now Patent 1,431,264, granted October 10, 1922. The 0 ject of my invention is to provide an attachment for a standard bumper to increase the impact area of the latter.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a frontelevation of a bumper of sprii gitrap type, to which my attachment is a p Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fi 3 is a front elevation of one of the attac ing bars; and

Fig. 4 is a similar view of a modified construction.

The bumpers in general use today, Whether of the resilient or rigid impact member type, are commonly of very slight vertical extent-'say from 2 to 2 inches. While a bumper of this type protects as well as ossible against a vertical obstruction, suc as a post or pole, it is of little value as pro tection against a, horizontal obstruction which does not lie in the plane of the impact element of the bumper. For example, in street traific, where 80% of all collisions occurs, unless the bumpers of two colliding cars are in the same horizontal plane,

- practically no protection against injury to fenders and lamps is afforded thereby. Since these bumpers are ordinarily mounted on the chassis side bars, and the latter are at difl'erent heights from the ground, not only owing to difi'erent constructions of the chassis, but to different wheel diameters, it is seldom the case that the bumpers of two cars register. To meet this difiiculty I now provide an impact member attachment which may be readily mounted on the usual bumper and will serve to increase the vertical range of the impact member of the bumper. -Just what shape may be given ave ' to this attachment, or the particular fastenmg means for securing the attachment to the A second feature of my invention resides in the location of its increased impact area. Certain bumpers have recently appeared upon the market which afford an impact area of greater vertical extent in the mid-portion of the bumper. While this is effective in case of a head-on collision, it is of practically no value where the collision takes place w th the vehicles at a material angle to each other, such as occurs when a car is driven out from the curb. A large percentage of accidents to fenders and lamps occurs under met these conditions, and the bumper above ment oned, with increased impact extent in 1t s m1d-area, does not take care of this conditlon. My thought is to provide the impact member of the bumper with an increased vertical range at its endthat is to say outboard of the chassis side bars, and in the vicinity of the fenders and lamps. Such protection may be afforded not only by an attachment of the type before mentioned, which may be applied to bumpers now on the market, but it also may be incorporated in a bumper during the process of manufacture.

While the impact attachment member may applied to bumpers of the rigid impact bar type, the attaching brackets being suitably modified for this'purpose, I have shown the invention applied to bumper bars of the spring strap type,- since the latter are more common. bumper 5 of this type is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the ends ofthe bumper being carried back as usual and secured, in a manner not indicated, to the chassis side bars. As will be noted, the vertical extent of the impact member is quite limited. It is materially increased by the addition thereto of the impact bars 7 and 8 illustrated. Each of these bars has a shape shown in Fig. 3, the ends 9 and 10 lying in register with an intermediate ofi'set bridge 11, the ends and bridge being arranged in front of the impact member 5 of the bumper in adjusted position, and being secured thereto by stirrup clamps 12. The second bar 8 corresponds to the bar 7, being merely reversed inposition, and its end and midbridge portions registering with those of the bar 7 it being gripped and secured to the bumper 5 bv the same stirrup clamps 12. The bumper thus comprises a pair of 1mact bars having parallel straight reaches, gent intermediate their ends at an obtuse angle to the horizontal median line of the bumper and interconnected at said ends, while the planes of the bends intersect substantially at said median line of the bumper at substantially the same point. It will further be clear that the impact bars are juxtaposed and overlapped not only at the offset ends but also at the intermediate offset bridge portions 11, which constitute portions of the impact area of the bumper. The configuration of the impact area of the bumper is thus that of a pair of lozenges arranged end to end, the upper and lower portions of which extend respectively above and below the horizontal median line of the bumper, while between the lozenges extends the parallel sides overlapped and juxtaposed bridge elements 11.

Instead of'having the bars extend all the way across the bumper front, as in Fig. 1, a pair of shorter bars 13 of the type shown in Fig. 4 may be used on each side of the bumper, the adjacent ends of the bars being held in position by the mid-clamp 12. If it is desired to limit the increased impact area to the mid-portion of the bumper, a single pair of bars 13 may be arranged at the midarea of the bumper and secured by clamps 12. one at each end.

Various modifications of form of the impact bars will readily occur to those dealing with the problem, and I do not limit my invention to the precise contours indicated, or the particular attaching means shown.

Thus, as above stated, the impact bars may be incorporated in the bumper during the process of manufacture. Obviously when such is the case. one or the other of the impact elements will have its end carried back to form portion of the supporting structure for the impact bar;-for example, the impact bar 7 may have its end carried around in a spring bend toward the chassis in place of the supporting arms of the standard bumper construction shown in Fig. 2. Similarly the bar 8 may have its opposite end carried around in a spring loop I to form the supporting arm at the other end of the impact area. In a construction such as this the impact member 5 of the standard bumper would be omitted, its place being taken by the upper and lower bars 7 and 8. the ends of which are recurved to form the supporting arms of the impact element.

I claim I 1. A vehicle bumper comprising an impact bar and a pair of auxiliary bars, each having its ends and mid-portion offset into register with the impact her, said offset portions being secured to the impact bar and the intermediate areas of said auxiliary bars projecting in opposite directions from the impact bar'to increaes its effective vertical range outboard of the side bars of a supporting chassis.

2. An automobile bumper comprising a pair of impact bars having arallel straight reaches bent intermediate t eir ends at an obtuse angle to thehorizontal median line of the bumper and interconnected at said ends.

3. An automobile bumper com rising a pair of impact bars having paralle straight reaches bent intermediate their ends on an obtuse angle to the longitudinal median line of the bumper, the planes of said bends intersecting substantially at the said median line of the bumper.'

4. An automobile bumper comprising a pair of impact bars having straight parallel reaches offset to afford juxtaposed overlapped impact areas between the ends of said bars.

5. An automobile bumper comprising a pair of impact bars having straight parallel reaches offset to afford juxtaposed, overlapped impact areas between the ends of said bars, together with reversely bent spring end supports for said impact bars.

6. An automobile bumper comprising a pair of impact bars extending in vertically spaced relation outboard of the side bars of a supporting chassis, and vertically offset toward the longitudinal median line of the bumper intermediate said ends.

7. An automobile bumper comprising a pair of impact bars extending in vertically spaced relation outbo ard of the side bars of a supporting chassis, and vertically offset toward the longitudinal median line of the bumper at said ends.

8. An automobile bumper comprising a pair of strap metal impact bars extending in vertically spaced relation outboard of the side bars of a supporting chassis, and vertically offset edgewise toward the longitudinal median line of the bumper.

' 9. An automobile bumper comprising a pair of strap metal impact bars extending in vertically spaced relation outboard of the side bars of a supporting chassis, and verti-' cally offset edgewise toward the longitudinal median line of the bumper intermediate "their ends.

10. An'automobile bumper comprising a pair of strap metal impact bars extending in vertically spaced relation outboard of the side bars of a supporting chassis, and vertically offset edgewise toward the longitudinal median line of the bumper at their, ends.

'11. An automobile bumpercomprising a pair of complementary inversely arranged impact bars extending across the vehicle front and affording vertically spaced impact areas outboard of the side bars of a supporting chassis, said bars being offset toward the longitudina l median line of the bumper.

12. A bumper bar comprising a plurality of impact elements having straight parallel reaches and ofl'setfrom each other to form a plurality of widened impact portions and being brought together at their ends to form tapered end impact surfaces arranged outboard of the side bars of a supporting chas- SIS.

13. A bumper bar comprising a plurality of spring elements offset from each other to form a-plurality of widened impact portions and brought together at the ends to form tapered end impact surfaces.

14. A' bumper bar comprising a plurality of overlapped spring elements offset from each other to form a plurality of inclined ended impact surfaces, one of said surfaces forming a central impact member, and one of the surfaces at each end of the bar being aligned in front of the wheels.

15. A bumper comprising a plurality of overlapped spring strap metal bars forming the impact member of the bumper, certain of saidbars being offset from each other to afford a plurality of impact areas of greater vertical extent than the width of the bars, and certain of said areas of greater extent reaching substantially to the plane of the wheels.

16. A bumper comprising a plurality of overlapped spring strap metal bars forming the impact area of the bumper, certain of vertical extent than the width of the bars,

and certain of said areas of greater extent reaching substantially to the the plane of the wheels, in combination with spring strap metal supporting arms en aging said impact member at opposite en s, together with supplemental supporting means comprising spring metal strap means engaging said impact member in its mid area.

18. A bumper comprising a plurality of overlapped spring strap metal bars on the impact member of the bumper, certain of said bars being offset from each other adjacent the end and mid area of the impact member to afford a plurality of impact surfaces of greater vertical extent than the width of the bars, sprin strap metal supporting arms extending rom opposite ends of the impact member, and a supplemental spring strap metal member engaging the central area of the impact member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' SAMUEL H. SHAW. 

